"Zephyr, why do stars twinkle?" asked the gray-furred, purple-maned, bat-winged pegasus filly, as she laid on her back in the tall grass of the Canterlot countryside, to another shape lying next to her. Both the young ponies were watching the black, star-riddled sky above, illuminated by the wonderful, silver glow of the full moon; the only other light source coming from the distant lights of the city of Canterlot itself, far behind them both.
"I don't know, Gloamwing," the white-furred, blonde-maned pegasus colt replied back. His blue eyes, previously focused on the moon, and the shadowy, enigmatic shape of the Mare on it, shifting to the objects she spoke of, which littered the sky with their blue, red, and white glow. "But they sure look pretty, don't they?"
"Very pretty," Gloamwing responded, in a sigh. "Back in Labyrinthus, we can't see the sky. The caves we live in blocks it off, and there are usually clouds outside, plus it's really freezing and snowy, too."
When Gloamwing finished describing the bat-pegasi capital, her golden eyes, and the black, vertical slits that made her pupils, moved to her friend, and a mischievous expression came onto her face. With a smirk, Gloamwing silently got to her hooves, and her webbed wings unfolded from her back.
"Ragh!" she roared, playfully, as she jumped up and tackled the unprepared Zephyr, who let out a panicked, but by no means pained shout when he felt the unexpected impact of his friend's fuzzy body against his own. Both burst out into childish laughter as they mock-fought, and tumbled down the grassy hill, the distant, glowing shape of the city of Canterlot disappearing from their field of view. They soon reached the bottom of the knoll and broke off from each other. When the two stood back up, they each wore a competitive smile on their faces, both already plotting their next moves.
"So... what do you wanna be when you grow up?" Gloamwing asked again, after brushing the dirt from her fur, before they both began to pace, circling one another, slowly.
"A royal guard, like my father," Zephyr replied. "So I can fight monsters, defeat evil, and defend good!"
"That's funny..." Gloamwing cackled back, as she stopped moving and hunched over, preparing for an assault. "Because that's what I wanna be, too!"
The bat pegasus lunged forward, through the air, her dark wings flapping rapidly as she became airborne, and her pointy, fur-tipped ears folding back. Zephyr leaped as well, his wings unfurling from his side, meeting her several feet in the air. With a quick motion, the two collided, and fell back to the ground, where they began to wrestle each other further.
"Gloamwing!" a new, deep voice suddenly went out through the night, interrupting the foal's playing. The filly in question's head flew up, and she jumped off of her friend, as she looked around for where the familiar vocalization came from, her eyes scanning the sky.
"That sounds like my daddy..." Gloamwing said, in a lighter, smaller voice, as she continued to swivel her head back and forth, rapidly. "Uh-oh... he sounds like he's looking for me."
"Did you sneak out again?" Zephyr inquired, with a moan.
"Maybe..." she replied, with a nervous giggle. Zephyr let out another, much longer-drawn groan, and looked back at her. His face was curled in partial frustration, foreshadowing what manner of speech he was going to use next.
"You said you'd only come out here if you were allowed to!"
"Don't worry," she laughed, yanking him to the ground with a hoof, where they were partially concealed by the long grass. "As long as he doesn't see us, I'd bet my tail he'll-"
"There you are, Gloamwing," the voice interrupted, causing startled silence to erupt between the two. Ever so slowly, they both looked up to the sound of flapping wings, and saw a large, bat-winged silhouette casting a shadow on them against the shine of the moon.
"Oh, uh, hi... Daddy..." Gloamwing squeaked back as he approached. Her father landed on the ground a few meters away, showing off his muscular, gray-furred body. The only other time Zephyr had seen him, he was dressed in his equally-intimidating dark-colored armor.
"We need to talk," he spoke in a way that easily frightened the colt. Before Zephyr could stop her, Gloamwing walked forward, ready to face whatever punishment awaited her.
"Yes, Daddy?" his daughter asked, her face as cherubic, and innocent-looking as she could muster, complete with a large smile and gleaming, widened eyes. Both foals could see that he didn't seem phased by it in the least, as told by the stallion's still-grim expression. After exchanging a stern, golden-eyed glare to Zephyr, he bent his head over and said something to Gloamwing. It was just loud enough for Zephyr to hear, but quiet enough for him to be unable to make out what he was actually saying. What he did know is that with every word spoken, Gloamwing's face seemed to change for the worse. "I... understand..." she finally responded, once he was done.
She turned, and walked back to Zephyr, who was still waiting with extreme, anxious fear of what was going to come next. When she was right in front of him he could plainly see that her expression was glum. Sad. Miserable.
"I have to... go now..." the filly said, in an extremely pained tone, her brow drooped and head arched. She looked to the ground and pawed at the dirt as she spoke next. "My dad says that... that... we're going back to Labyrinthus... tomorrow."
"I... oh." Zephyr responded, in a very shocked voice. "W-why? You only moved here a month ago!"
"Dad told me that he just got restationed back there again, by Princess Celestia," Gloamwing continued, her voice breaking. "He also wants me back at the house so I can start packing. I... I... goodbye, Zephyr."
She quickly turned, and started back to where her father was in a trot. Zephyr, heartbroken beyond measure and still attempting in vain to properly process this information, could only lower his head in sadness. As he suddenly reheard the sound of hooves over grass quickly coming up to him, he lifted his head again, just in time to see Gloamwing rapidly running back to him, her hooves wrapping around his body in a powerful hug when she approached.
"You're my best friend, Zephyr," Gloamwing said with a sniffle as she squeezed onto him tightly, her eyes closed as she tried to savor the moment. "You're my best friend in the whole world."
"Don't worry, Gloamwing. We'll see each other again," Zephyr spoke, reassuringly, as he began to hug back, placing a hoof around her shoulder. "I know we will, somehow."
"I hope so," she replied, slowly breaking off from the hug and opening her eyes. "If we don't, then... I hope you become a great royal guard."
"I bet you'd become captain in no time," he chuckled back. "I've seen how fast you can fly, and you're the toughest pony I know."
"Well, heh, you're no pushover either," she complimented, her voice trembling slightly but still managing a small laugh. "Goodbye, Zephyr,"
"Goodbye, Gloamwing," he responded, taking his hoof off of her shoulder.
"Gloamwing! Are you coming?" her father spoke up. Gloamwing swiveled her head back to him and saw he was flying in the air, silently hovering a short distance from them.
"Oh, uh, y-yeah..." she replied, reluctantly. She jumped up, and flew to him, before looking back, one final time, and waving her hoof. Zephyr waved back, trying his hardest to smile for his friend. They soon flew off, into the night sky, fading from sight after but a few seconds, leaving only the sound of wind blowing off of the grass to herald what the young colt now felt. What he knew.
Zephyr was alone.
A small brown bat crawled about on the jagged, moss-covered, rocky ceiling of the spacious tunnel; one of many hundreds living inside of the cavernous mountain. Its tiny, beady black eyes scanned its surroundings, checking to see if there was anything to look out for, before it let out a small squeak; its use of echolocation proving useful to navigate the near-blackness of its environment. After making sure the coast was clear, another squeak was unleashed and the little creature leaped from its perch into the damp air, where it flapped its wings in a quick manner.
Without warning, a large, dark, equine shape suddenly zoomed by in complete silence, the wind resulting from the being sending the bat spiraling through the air, chittering rapidly in a panic, before it caught itself, regaining its balance. As it did so, another shape, of equal size, zipped by as well, followed by another, and then another. The bat, scared out of its mind by the commotion, fled back to the wall of the cave and clung to its surface, fearing for its life as more flew by.
The shapes, which a pony with an exceptionally quick eye could recognize as bat pegasi, continued to fly through the maze-like tunnels of the cave, their armored forms avoiding the rock walls despite the speed they were going at, even as the tunnel narrowed. Each of their purple wings beat furiously, but quietly, and their faces bore curled and strained visages. An opening that lead to a dead end came upon them, and they instantly set about making it to the ground.
The first one to make landfall grasped at a stopwatch hanging around his neck with a hoof, and clicked the button, stopping it. The others came down almost right after, each one, including the clockbearer, panting, coughing, and desperately attempting to take in breaths of air, in a manner akin to what somepony would do if their lungs had just been pierced by the tip of a spear. As they tried to relax their ailing joints, another shape emerged from the tunnel.
The bat pegasus, a female wearing the only helmet to include an upwards-facing crescent on its front and a stoic expression, landed last with an almost unnatural grace as she silently descended from the air, scattering not even a pebble. As she folded her webbed wings behind her back, she looked back to the others with her golden, piercing eyes, and spoke, her voice quick and to the point.
"Time?" the apparent leader asked in a gravelly voice. The pegasus with the stopwatch looked at the small, bronze-colored clock, lifting it with his hoof and gave a look of concern to it, when he saw what the answer was. He finally spoke back, his voice quivering, both from exhaustion and from the knowledge of what he knew would come next.
"Fifty-three seconds."
"Fifty-three seconds..." she repeated, slowly, before a scowl came upon her face. She looked at the rest of her troops, glaring at each of them maliciously. "Did you hear that? Fifty-three seconds! Pathetic!" she thundered, stomping the ground with an armored hoof, causing two of them to flinch. "Eventide, you need to learn more control with your speed! Red Sprite, you need to catch the downdraft faster! Willow Wisp..."
She looked at the pony of which she was speaking, and saw the large bat pony was wearing a proud smirk on his lips, as if foolishly believing he was about to be complimented.
"...Get that dumb, cocky look off of your face, soldier! I could hear your wingbeats from a mile away!" she finished, prompting Willow Wisp to let loose a glum frown of embarrassment. Satisfied with the look, she then turned her attention to the final soldier under her charge, who stood at the end of the line.
"Mistmore..." she began, addressing the only other female in the group by her name, as with the rest. The young bat pegasus gave an unsure look with her brow as she prepared to hear her flaws get explained to her for the fifth time that day. The captain smiled, eager to speak what she had on her mind.
"...Nice job improving on your turning," she said at last, complimenting instead of insulting, her voice much less rigid and demanding than it just was. "You finally made a clean sweep this lap. That was good work. Keep it up."
Mistmore, once she properly registered the words, sighed in relief, an easy breath escaping from her mouth. The merciless tone and expression the squad leader had previously showed returned just moments later, and with a vengeance.
"We're doing it again!" she shouted, causing dissenting groans to erupt between all of them. "And if we're even zero-point-zero-one seconds later than this sorry excuse for a lap, we will continue to do it again! Understood?"
"Yes sir, captain, sir!" they all shouted in perfect unison, saluting their superior officer by her title. The moment they finished, each one, including the captain, heard a fizzing noise coming from above. Looking up, a white, roll of paper was spied appearing in a flash of green by all, which promptly fell from the air like a leaf, and plopped to the gray, pebble-covered ground. The captain was the first to act, trotting forward to it.
Snapping what she recognized as the royal seal open with her teeth, and picking it up with a hoof, the paper rolled open, and she instantly set to reading it. Her eyes moved to and fro for nearly a minute as she scanned the writing, her brow curling slightly in confusion, before returning to normal.
"Change of plans, troops," she started, as she calmly closed the document, letting the paper roll up, before handing it off to Red Sprite. "We're going back to the garrison. Any objections?"
"No sir, captain, sir!" they all shouted again, saluting once more.
"Then what are you four fillies waiting for? Go! Go! Go! Fly!" she ordered, her voice indicating a want for great haste. "The last one to make it to the barracks does three extra laps and spends the rest of the night on guard duty!"
"Erm... uh... you heard her!" Red Sprite said. "Let's move out!"
They didn't need to be told twice.
A white-furred, blue-eyed pegasus stallion walked over the concrete ground of the village; one of many small, but elegant hamlets that lead to the illustrious capital, Canterlot. The orange evening sun gleamed off of his golden armor, while his tail, dyed the same blue color as the brush on the top of his helmet to signify his division, swayed back and forth behind himself. He was rapidly approaching the door to a large building, one that had an elegant banner portraying the star-shaped symbol of the royal guard, similar to the one on his armor's chestpiece.
Standing by the door was a rather tall, imposing unicorn with chocolate-colored fur. He wore the same helmet and armor as the pegasus, and his tail was, too, dyed a vibrant blue color.
"Lieutenant Zephyr," he began, his voice deep, and gravelly. "The colonel wants to speak with you."
"I know... I was told about it by Firefly, Captain Bulwark," Zephyr replied, clearly irritated by his commanding officer.
"Then what are you waiting for, whelp? Get in there," Bulwark barked, pointing at the door with his hoof. With a silent groan, the pegasus entered, pushing the door open. When Zephyr was inside, the unicorn, his work done, began to trot off to attend to other matters, his helmeted, horned head held high.
When Zephyr walked into the room, he heard, right off, the scratching sound of a pen against paper, and immediately recognized the elderly shape of Colonel Aegis, the commander of the platoon where he, and every other guard located on the grounds, was stationed, at his oak desk nearby. He calmly walked up to where he was working, and stood in attention, waiting for the colonel to get to him. When he realized that the colonel was either too engrossed in his work to notice him, or that he wasn't in his field of view, he calmly took his golden helmet off, revealing his blond mane, and placed it on the desk.
The metal sound of the helmet clinking against the wood was what finally captured the colonel's attention. He turned his mustached head upward and saw the pegasus looking back at him, his expression showing dutiful respect.
"Oh! Zephyr, you arrived," the unicorn spoke, in a cheery voice. He placed the pen into an inkwell, and clapped his hooves together, on the desk. "You got here faster than I thought. I'm glad you could make it."
"Of course, Colonel Aegis. You specifically asked for me."
"Yes, well... I have some important news for you that I want you to deliver to the rest of your squad," the aged unicorn said again, as he turned, and began to sift through a drawer. "I've received word yesterday from Princess Celestia detailing an important mission that I wish for your squad and yourself to undertake. It involves something along the lines of protecting some archaeologists in a journey to the north."
"I'll be sure to tell them about it right away," he replied. "I'll inform the captain, and we'll prepare to head out as soon as possible."
"Yes. But, the thing is, well..." Aegis chuckled, scratching his back anxious to get at what he wanted to say. "...I want you to lead the squad this time. Consider it a... promotion."
"Wait, what? Promotion? Me?" Zephyr asked, pointing to himself, clearly surprised. "You want me to lead them all?"
"No, just your contingent," Aegis quickly replied. "The other group that will be joining you, from Labyrinthus, has their own leader, and the archaeologists are in control of themselves. Listen, I know you've been holding back. You're one of the best pegasi we have in your division, but you're also the only one that doesn't seem to want to ascend to a position of leadership. Remember, a year ago, when those representatives from Canterlot asked for you to take command of the outpost near Griffonstone?"
"I... turned them down," he finished.
"Precisely. Now, why did you? I know as a fact you have the capacity for it," the colonel said, as he finally found what he was looking for in the drawer, which Zephyr saw was a scroll, with the official seal of the Princesses on it.
"Why? Well... I just don't think that I can handle what comes with it," he replied.
"Hah! I, too, didn't think I would be that good at it as well, until I was thrust into the position at the Battle of Big Ivory Horn," he chuckled, twirling his gray mustache, as he recounted the experience. "The original captain of my squad was rendered sick with fever the night previously, and then the enemy attacked. It was chaos! Moral was dropping faster than the temperature, casualties were rising, but when hope seemed lost, I decided that I would make the-"
The sound of Zephyr coughing into his hoof brought the old stallion back into reality. He let out a cough of his own, and returned to the matter at hand.
"Ahem... well, the point is, lieutenant, that you won't find out how to truly act as a leader from paperwork, or from exercises. You find out if it's your true calling from the field."
"You just don't understand, sir," Zephyr said back, respectfully, as he walked forward slightly. "Dust Devil, Slipstream, Firefly... they're my squadmates. My friends. The way your son, our commanding officer, keeps us in line... I could never do that to them."
"Pff. Bulwark's acted like that since he was a colt," Aegis puffed. "And besides, a strict personality isn't the only way to get soldiers to listen. Your troops have to have faith and trust in you, too. That's something you have a surplus of with your squadmates."
When Zephyr, reluctantly, bowed his head in acceptance, the colonel spoke again, his aged voice brimming with friendly reassurance.
"Come now, it's only this mission. All you have to do is guard some ponies, let them do their business, and bring them back, while making sure the squad does as it's supposed to do," he said. "Bulwark'll still be keeping an eye on you, but I want to be perfectly clear that it will be you that leads them. We'll find out what comes from it when you return, and go from there. Understood, "captain?""
"...Understood," Zephyr slowly replied.
"Good. Now, go along and tell the rest of your team," Aegis said, as he began to lower his head back to what he was working on previously. "Bulwark already knows, so there's no need to remind him."
"Yes, sir," Zephyr responded again, after collecting his helmet, placing it over his head once more, and picking the document up, tucking it underneath his left wing. Turning, he walked out of the office, and into the open street of the town. As he walked, he took the scroll out, and looked at it. With a sigh, Zephyr broke the seal, unfurled the document, and began to read, both of his outstretched wings keeping it in place as he walked.
"They want to meet at Labyrinthus..." he spoke to himself, listing off any important detail he came across. "Expedition to the north... Lost city... and, let's see... the detachment from Labyrinthus will be lead by a Captain..."
His face froze in surprise as he read the next part, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Gloamwing?"
The squadron of bat pegasi finally arrived at the barracks, their leader far ahead of them all. The construct, a tall building carved directly out of the mountain, was made out of sturdy stone and covered in metal plating and wooden beams, stretching from the bottom of the cave, to its stalactite-covered ceiling. Lamps and small, basket-shaped, lit pyres hung from posts on nearly every corner of it, providing light in the dark, sunless environment, and giving the walls a silver gleam. As the spot where they normally landed came into view, the captain instantly saw two, new pony shapes, one brown, one pale-furred, and both wearing wool jackets; very outlandish by the standards of the bat pegasi.
They finally landed, and the captain now had a clear look at the two. The pale-furred one was a unicorn, with a dark gray mane, and the other was a regular earth pony. The only thing the two seemed to have in common, was that their jackets matched, and it concealed their cutie marks.
"Take five, men," she said to her group, before departing them, to meet the strangers. With relieved sighs, they each complied.
"You must be the captain," the unicorn spoke when she was within earshot.
"Please..." the bat pegasus started, as she took her helmet off, revealing her short, purple mane. "Call me Gloamwing."
"Alright, Captain Gloamwing. Since you are here, I presume your team and yourself received the message from Princess Luna?"
"I have," she replied. "It said that you would inform me of what you wanted from us. First off, if I may ask, I would like to know who I'm greeting."
"Ah, yes. Well, I'm Professor Fairtree of the Clydesdale University in Whinnyapolis, and this is my assistant, Associate Professor Mellowbrook," the unicorn said again, before motioning to the brown-furred earth pony beside her.
"Charmed," the earth pony spoke, bowing her head, and lifting her hoof, lowering it after a moment.
"...We both specialize in the studies of ancient cultures and archaeology, especially those native to the northern kingdoms," she continued. "Have you, by chance, heard of the ancient opinicus empire of Farthuzan?"
"Yes, of course. They were the so-called "tech geniuses" from a thousand years ago and lived in isolation further north from here, in the land where only black ice lies." Gloamwing said. "They were said to have all mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth after an unknown incident. It's a myth that's been passed down for hundreds of years."
"Well, our research beg to differ," Mellowbrook said again. "As you should know, the legends also say they once had brief relations with the Crystal Empire, or, to be that much more specific, a single interaction with it."
"And...?" Gloamwing asked.
"And..." Fairtree laughed, as if preparing to tell the best joke of her life. "When the Crystal Empire returned less than a year ago, I was allowed to explore its libraries, and low and behold, I found this!"
She reached into one of the bags on her side, and pulled out a flap of paper with her mouth, before gently placing it on the ground for all to see. Written on it was many intricate details, most of it appearing to be mountains, towns, pathways, and writing describing each one, but in a language unknown to the bat pegasus. One of the trails in particular lead to the upper part of the crusty paper, to a shaded-in spot that covered the entire top, like a dark horizon, the only other object being a symbol of a castle, with an eagle's head adorning the top.
"A map?" Gloamwing inquired
"Exactly," the professor responded. "With this newfound evidence and the hearing of my superiors, and the princesses themselves, I have accrued enough support to fund an expedition aimed at rediscovering the ancient city."
"That sounds extremely risky," Gloamwing spoke. "Nopony's ever gone that far north and returned before."
"...Which is why Celestia and Luna assigned your squad of bat pegasi, and another from Canterlot, to guard us on our endeavor," Mellowbrook replied back. "Every recorded expedition up there was unprepared, and ill-suited for it. This one, however, will be different. Much different."
"I heard about that part," Gloamwing said, somewhat grumpily. "Apparently, the princesses don't believe that one group of professionally-trained pegasi was enough, and decided to sling another over our shoulders. "
"Either way, we're scheduled to move out in three days, after they arrive here," Fairtree said again, as she scooped the map back up into her hooves, and packed it away. Gloamwing turned and looked to the ponies under her charge a short distance away.
"Men, let's get back to training," Gloamwing said, as she placed her helmet back on her head, and returned to them. They each nodded, and took off into the air without a second thought. Just as she was about to join them, Professor Fairtree's voice spoke up from behind.
"You seem pretty sure of yourself, captain. What's the hostility I sense between you and the guards of Canterlot?"
Gloamwing smirked as she looked over her shoulder. "We have a big rivalry going on with those wallflowers. 'Never actually heard of any of them work alongside us, unless it was really, really important."
"Do you think it will make for an interesting experience?" the professor asked again.
"Hope so," Gloamwing said back, flashing a toothy smile, before taking off to the air.
